On Monday, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced additional steps to facilitate submitting the 2024–25 FAFSA form.
Since the form became available on Dec. 30, ED estimates nearly 4 million forms have been successfully submitted and the time to complete the forms substantially reduced to as little as 15 minutes. Last week, ED announced $50 million in funding for personnel and resources, including technical assistance and support, deployed to support institutions, students and their families with Better FAFSA®. Earlier this week, the Biden-Harris administration announced new steps that will make it easier for colleges and universities to process records and allow for more time being spent to help students.
These new steps include reducing verification requirements, suspending routine school compliance reviews and providing flexibility on renewing participation in the federal student aid programs. There is an intention to particularly support under-resourced institutions.
Dr. Miguel A. Cardona
On a teleconference with the media, Secretary of Education Dr. Miguel A. Cardona said that by Feb. 16 the ED will release test versions of Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs), which will give colleges and universities time to prepare their systems and implement Better FAFSA. The goal is for this to be transformational for hundreds of thousands of additional students.
“These steps are a direct response to input we’ve received from financial aid administrators and college and university presidents about where they’re seeing challenges in implementing Better FAFSA and the concrete ways and steps we can take that help them process this information easier and simpler,” said Cardona. “Our top priority is to ensure that students can access the maximum financial aid possible to help them pursue their higher education goals.”
Letters will be going out to college and university administrators, including leaders of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) explaining the steps and offering the ED's continued support and direct communication.
ED officials said that they are aware there have been delays in this overhaul of what Cardona called a “broken system.”
